Success a journey, not just an event for entrepreneur, Marc Laird

Marc Laird is the owner of Strictly Events, an events supplies and services company he’s operated for close to a decade.

Starting your own business can be tough. This is an experience that Marc Laird knows all too well.

“I remember having to keep my work clothes ready in my car for times when I had to head out to events to disassemble the tents and then head straight to work,” Laird reflected.

“It was tough, but I knew what I wanted, and I wanted nothing more than to build on what I had, and operate a successful business,” he said.

Laird is the owner of Strictly Events, an events supplies and services company he’s operated for close to a decade.

He made his foray into entrepreneurship while pursuing his undergraduate study at the University of Technology (UTech), where he would rent tents for events. It was this tent rental venture that he was able to expand into Strictly Events, which rents a host of party equipment, does events management and execution for corporate clients, and handles other events, such as parties and most recently, weddings.

Before officially starting the company, Laird was a teacher at a private school operated by his family. But his mother wasn’t too keen on his idea at first. She was uncomfortable with him gambling with a steady job and profession.

“I remember I got a stern talk from my mother about what I was doing,” said Laird.

Video edited by Ramon Lindsay.

“In fact, I came up in a family of entrepreneurs, my dad had a farm. But I guess my mum really didn’t want me to have a difficult time because she was aware of the pains of running a business,” he added.

Indeed, Laird did encounter his fair share of challenges over the years.

“I’ve had cases where I invested too much and overspent in some areas, putting us in a financial bind, and we had to go back and look at our expenses,” he reflected.

But over the years he received a lot of support from family and friends, who offered their skills and input in the process of operating the business.

As part of his medium to long-term goals, Laird plans to set up a base in Montego Bay to expand his services to customers out west, and begin offering additional services to clients in general.